iPhones the New Face of Education?

In an age where all young people are obsessed with the internet and games, how can a school possibly manage to educate them? Well, the Abilene Christian University in Texas had the idea that handing out free iPhones and integrating them into the curriculum would do the trick.

Using your Phone in Class

The private university in the first year of this pilot program gave its 1000 freshmen the option between a free iPhone, and a free iPod Touch. Their goal was to revolutionize the classroom experience with the technology, turning apps into homework and enabling new students to locate their classes using campus maps. Abilene went as far as introducing a polling app that would enhance class participation.

The idea worked quite well apparently. Almost the entire student and faculty population now has an iPhone. A professor who aided in establishing the initiative explained the need for it by saying the iPhone is giving the students information that they need at the time that they need it.

The implementation of this program was not easy. The university had to optimize its campus wireless network to accommodate it. In addition, they had to write their own custom-made apps to facilitate it, but the trend seems to be catching on. The Stanford University began to offer an app for its students called iStanford that enables them to check their class schedules and obtain other relevant information. It seems the next step should be handing out free iPhones.

In the UK, more than 500 medical students in the University of Leeds were given free iPhones. These smartphones were to offer them access to online textbooks and had applications that would give the students reference materials. The university said the phones would be useful for the fourth and fifth year medical students who would be away from campus most of the time in hospitals by providing them with material that would be useful in their training. The applications would give them instant access to important textbooks, help them jot down important information and keep in touch with their tutors.

The use of smartphones in universities both for giving information and for delivering lectures appears to be the new wave in education. The universities that have been taken up by it, say it has multiple benefits.

First, it will serve to eliminate the need for a lecturer to stand in front of a classroom for an hour or more, giving a lecture from a book, which will probably become outdated in just a few months. It is a well-known fact that Google and Wikipedia are becoming more of a source of information than any textbook ever will be. So now, thanks to smartphones the lecturer can instruct the students on the information to look for and help them sift through the search results to get the relevant bits.

The new polling app that enables students to give their opinions anonymously will increase class participation. Students will be able to make their contributions without the common fear of being belittled for the way they think. The adoption of technology in classrooms has become the most logical thing to do.

About the Author: Robbie Crowe is sure that some of Apple’s products like iPhone and iPad are great for students. His website has a tutorial that can help you unlock iphone 4 step by step easily.